The KIDS Report is a biweekly publication produced by K-12 students as a resource to other K-12 students. It is an ongoing, cooperative effort of 15 classrooms from around the world. Teachers assist and provide support; however, students select, evaluate and annotate all resources included in every issue of the KIDS Report.
The KIDS Report is published with a generous grant from John and Tashia Morgridge and with the support of the General Library System of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This issue of KIDS, dated November 9, 1999, was written and produced by Janet Amann's class at North Woods Elementary School in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
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Butterflies At the Field Museum
http://www.fmnh.org/butterfly/habit.htm Did you know there are 20,000 different kinds of butterflies in the world? At this site from the Field Museum of Chicago, you can select from Butterfly Collection, Butterfly Habitats, or Butterfly Basics to find out more information about butterflies. This site is easy to navigate, and the information is easy to understand. I would recommend this site for grades 4 and up. I liked the realistic details of the photographs.
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A Student's Guide to Butterflies
http://www.butterflyfarm.co.cr/farmer/bfly1.htm Do you know the difference between a moth and a butterfly? If you want to find out, look up this site. But you might need to be a good reader to use this site -- maybe 6th grade and up. The information given is very scientific, with a lot of details. There is a glossary that might help you with some of the terms. This site has many links to other butterfly sites.
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Where Do Butterflies Come From? (Cool Science)
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/butterfly/index.html Would you like to make a paper butterfly that "emerges from a chrysalis?" I liked the art project idea shown on this site. The information is written in large print and in a way that younger kids can understand. The drawings of the butterfly life cycle are interesting and add a lot to the site. This butterfly page is part of the Cool Science for Curious Kids site and was written by the New York Scotia-Glenville Children's Museum. I would recommend it for 1st - 3rd grade students.
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Children's Butterfly Site
http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/butterfly/butterfly.html
This reliable and award winning site was made for kids by scientists at the Midcontinent Ecological Science Center. The colorful and animated graphics are fun to look at. There is a coloring page to download which shows the life cycle of a monarch. The large print makes the information easy to read. I think the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section is very good. I would say to use this site with students in grades 3 - 6. There are several other good sites linked to this one.
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The Butterfly Website
http://butterflywebsite.com/ Why are they called "butterflies? If you want to find out, go to the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on this site. You can find a lot of good information. I would use this site with upper elementary students because at first the navigation is a little confusing. But there is a lot of very useful information here. The photo gallery might take a second to load, but it has great photographs and information about many kinds of butterflies. This is an award-winning site.
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Monarch Watch
http://www.monarchwatch.org You can learn all about the monarch butterfly on this site. There is a lot of detailed information about monarch tagging, migration, and the life cycle. It's easy to navigate around on this site. It's very well organized. There are links to other monarch sites. Scientists from two universities developed this site. I'd recommend it for upper elementary.
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Monarchs and Migration
http://www.smm.org/sln/monarchs/top.html I like the way this monarch butterfly site from the Science Museum of Minnesota is arranged. For elementary students, it's easy to find the pathways to investigate butterflies, other links, and the butterfly gallery of photos. You can share butterfly images and stories with other people, too. There are a lot of great pictures.
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Butterflies of North America
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm The first thing you see on this site is a map of the United States. You can choose your state and be taken to a list of butterfly families. From there you can select the butterfly you want to know more about and you are linked to a great photograph and very informative text. There are many photos and lots of information about the range, food, flight, and life cycle of a variety of butterflies. I like how the text part is divided into categories. This site was developed by the North Prairie Wildlife Research Center. This is a great research site. I would recommend it for upper elementary students.
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Butterfly Zone
http://www.butterflies.com/ I liked the organization of this site and I noticed it has won several design awards. You can look up different sections of the United States and find information about butterflies from that area. You can find out information about butterflies in your neighborhood and what kinds of plants to put in your garden that will attract those butterflies. This site has many ideas for making butterfly gardens. The print is not real large, and there are many links, so I would recommend this for upper elementary.
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These Internet resources were evaluated on the basis of Site Selection Guidelines that the students developed. Questions and comments can be sent to the facilitating teacher at North Woods Elementary, Janet Amann, at jamann@sdlax.k12.wi.us
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A Publication of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries